Feb. 17 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. House approved a three-month extension of the government’s authority to conduct roving
wiretaps of suspected terrorists, sending it to President Barack
Obama for his signature.

The measure, which passed 279-143, would extend the wiretap
power until May 27. It also would continue the government’s
ability to get access to suspected terrorists’ business and
other records and to monitor so-called “lone wolf” suspects.
The provisions are set to expire Feb. 28, and the Senate
approved the extension yesterday.

“There’s bipartisan consensus that these important tools
for our intelligence community cannot be allowed to lapse,”
said Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, a Michigan
Republican.

The roving-wiretap provision allows federal agents to
obtain a single warrant, from the secret court that supervises
counter-intelligence investigations, to monitor the phone calls
of suspected terrorists who use a series of mobile phones and
other communications devices.

The second provision lets agents, with approval from the
secret court, obtain any “tangible item” that aids
investigations of a suspected plot by foreign-based terrorists.
It is known as the library records provision.

Those sections are part of the USA Patriot Act, which
Congress enacted after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks to boost
law enforcement’s ability to monitor suspected terrorists in the
U.S. The act has been updated and extended since then, and the
overall law is set to expire in 2013.

The third section, authorizing surveillance of terrorists
unconnected to foreign groups, is part of a separate 2004 law.